The Loudens Patch tenement lies adjacent to the east of the Whim Creek Project in the Pilbara. The project has had limited previous exploration despite highly prospective geology, being Archean Mallina Basin metasediments along strike of De Grey’s Hemi deposit.
Most neighbouring tenure is held for gold and lithium exploration and the lack of available ground in the area attests to its prospectivity. Anax’s own exploration has highlighted multiple low grade gold anomalies and extensive lithium soil anomalies by means of soil and rock chip sampling. These targets continue to be progressively advanced towards drilling.
Geology
Loudens Patch occupies a triangular, fault-bound sub-basin of Mallina Formation fine grained Archean metasediments underlain by sandstones and conglomerates of the Constantine Fm. The bounding faults – Loudens Fault to the northeast and Mallina Shear to the South – are both gold-mineralised structures dotted with historical workings, including Loudens Patch, after which the tenement is named. The sub-basin units are steeply folded to overturned along a north-east trend and are an ideal trap site for structurally controlled mineralisation such as gold and VMS deposits. The underlying Constantine Formation conglomerates outcrop along the Mallina shear and are known to be gold mineralised.
Geological interpretation of detailed Landgate aerial photography has highlighted colour anomalies that suggest alteration and has defined numerous cross-cutting structures (north-east, north-west and east-west trending) that present suitable conduits to mineralisation. These require further investigation as follows.
Loudens Patch Location Map
Exploration
Historical exploration has been limited to patchy soil sampling with minor gold anomalism.
Anax has confirmed low level gold in systematic soil sampling and rock chip sampling has verified gold in situ up to 0.5g/t Au. Systematic soil sampling also generated lithium anomalism and rock chip sampling and mapping confirmed pegmatites up to 600m strike. Heritage clearance will enable trenching to access fresh rock below recent cover and drilling will follow.(